“Agostino Arrivabene was born at Rivolta d’Adda, near Cremona, Italy on June 11, 1967. After graduating in 1991 at the Brera Art Academy in 1991, he focused on painting, drawing and etching. From the outset his attention was drawn to the Ancient Masters, Leonardo, Dürer and van Eyck above all else, leading him to travel extensively in Europe’s museums to gain a first hand view of their masterpieces of which he often made faithful reproductions. This research allowed him to revitalise and apply forgotten painting techniques (above all egg tempera), to utilise neglected materials and to prepare colours according to traditional methods (from lapis lazuli, cinnabar, pure indigo, madder, bistre, dragon’s blood, orpiment and from other materials). At the same time he also focuses on drawing and etching techniques. It was as an etcher that he won in 1998 the first prize as the Leonardo Sciascia amateur des estampes international competition presided by Piero Guccione. He held, the following year, his first one-man exhibition at Rivolta d’Adda and took part at the 32nd Suzzara Prize, where he won the President of the Republic’s silver medal. In 1994, the Museo Civico of Crema dedicated him a one-man exhibition entitled Memoria e desiderio. The following year, the Palazzo Sormani public library in Milan hosted an exhibition of the works he made between 1990 and 1995. The following year, he held his first exhibition in the United Sates, at the CFM Gallery of New York.. In the meanwhile, he held other one-man exhibitions (at Reggio Emilia, curated by Alberto Agazzani, in 1997; and at Milan’s Spazio Bocca, curated by Gian Franco Grechi) and took part in various collective shows (5th Cremona Biennale of Contemporary Art; 1st Postumia Biennale Giovani at the Gazoldo degli Ippoliti museum; La Nef de Fous at the Centre Internationale de l’Art Fantastique of Gruyères in Switzerland, which ultimately purchased from him a large-sized Pandora). A large monograph published by the Milan-based publishing house Bocca Editore was presented in 2001 during the anthology exhibition, curated by Alberto Agazzani at the Museo Civico of Crema, on works dating between 1988 and 2000. In that same year, he was invited by the art critic and historian Vittorio Sgarbi to take part in Surrealismo Padano and Pittura Fantastica in Italia, two big exhibitions respectively held in Piacenza and Trieste. Also in 2002 a one-man exhibition was held at the “Le Muse” centre of Andria. He started cooperating in 2003 with the Antonia Jannone gallery of Milan where he held a one-man exhibition entitled Paesaggi, which came with a catalogue introduced by Giorgio Soavi. He worked in the same year with the great set designer Pier Luigi Pizzi for Heinrich Marschner’s Hans Hailing, which was staged in Cagliari. A cycle of his paintings illustrated Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray which was published in a special edition as part of Telecom’s “Progetto Italia” initiative for Christmas 2004 with an afterword by the art critic Philippe Daverio. The latter would dedicate in February 2005 ample space to Arrivabene’s work on his program Passepartout, which is broadcast on Raitre, the third channel of the Italian state TV. In the same month, Vittorio Sgarbi invited him to take part in the exhibitions Il Male. Esercizi di pittura crudele at the Stupingi Hunting Lodge of Turin and, successively, Il ritratto interiore. Da Lotto a Pirandello at the Archaeological Museum of Aosta, and L’inquietidune del volto. Da Lotto a Freud, held in November at the Banca Popolare di Lodi’s Renzo Piano designed exhibition hall.” here
